American League MVP Betting
With Opening Day just under a couple of months away, it’s time to start looking at some player award futures for the 2026 season.
Futures betting can go one of two ways: the board can look entirely different by the end of the year, or the betting favourites end up being the right call. For the past few years, the American League MVP and National League MVP awards have been dominated by two players: Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
In the American League, Judge has dominated AL MVP voting, and for good reason. The New York Yankee captain has won three of the past four MVP awards, with the only other going to Ohtani when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. In 2026, Judge will be competing for his third consecutive AL MVP award and fourth in the past five years.
History is not on Aaron Judge’s side. A third consecutive AL MVP Award has never been won, even by the legendary Yankee forefathers before him. He would also be the first player to win four AL MVP Awards in their career, and the third player in MLB history to win four MVP Awards after Ohtani and Barry Bonds.
So, can Judge do it again? Or is it time to see some new candidates step up in the American League MVP race? This guide will provide a history of the award, recent winners, and what the current 2026 AL MVP betting market looks like at Canadian sportsbooks.
What is the American League MVP Award?
Major League Baseball (MLB) awards an MVP from both the American League and National League at the end of each season. The American League MVP Award has gone through a few different iterations. It started in 1911 as the Chalmers Award, which was started by Hugh Chalmers of Chalmers Automotive. Each season between 1911 and 1914, Chalmers would award a player from each league with a Chalmers Model 30 automobile. Ty Cobb and Frank Schulte were the first winners of this award.
In 1922, the MLB created a new award to be given to the Most Valuable Player in the American League. The MLB added one for the National League two years later in 1924, and lasted until 1929. Finally, in 1931, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) introduced the league MVPs in the way we know them now. Writers in each city with a major league team would vote on a ten-place ballot where each player would receive a set number of points depending on where they ranked.
Since 1931, the New York Yankees have had 25 league MVPs, which is the most for any team in MLB history. Three of those are from Judge, joining other Yankees legends like Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle as Yankees with three MVPs.
Recent American League MVP Winners
Here are the recent winners of the American League MVP Award:
2026 American League MVP Betting Market
Canadian online betting sites are already posting MLB player award betting markets ahead of the start of the season. To nobody’s surprise, Aaron Judge is the current betting favourite to win the award for a third consecutive year. Since we’ve already mentioned that no player has ever won the AL MVP Award three years in a row, it might be time to consider some other names in the race for MVP.
Here are the current AL MVP lines & betting odds as per Betvictor Canada:
Judge has earned the right to be the top name on the AL MVP betting odds board, but at +250, his odds are currently priced to perfection. He can be the best player in the league for 162 games, but still only pays out about two and a half times your initial bet.
Looking at the board, a few names stand out as solid value bets, especially if you are building a portfolio of MVP futures. With the improvement of the Baltimore Orioles this season, more eyes will be on the team. If there is a significant improvement to their record, or if they are challenging for a playoff spot, Pete Alonso could be an interesting MVP bet at +2200. He’s led the National League in home runs, was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2019, and is a five-time all-star. While the Orioles do not have a Juan Soto at the top of the lineup, this year’s roster has the potential to be deeper than recent Mets’ lineups.
Jose Ramirez has been in the top 5 for American League MVP voting six times in his career. Could this be the year that Ramirez finally wins the award? He has been the definition of consistency in Cleveland and remains one of the best pure hitters in baseball at age 33. Ith odds of +1600, he’ll likely get looked over in favoure of names like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the new shiny toy, Roman Anthony.
*Odds correct at time of writing